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Free Plans – 1894 Unalaska Baidarka Kayak
The Unalaska baidarka appears as Figure 178 in the Bark Canoes and Skin Boats of North America. Howard I. Chapelle, the author, writes that it represents the standard design used throughout the Aleutian Islands and on the mainland as far east as Prince William Sound. The Aleuts also used this style in the Pribilof Islands and at St. Matthew as a sealing kayak. Chapelle notes that the bow varied from the style used in this free plan, but he says that the body style remained the same. The Aleuts also built this kayak in two-cockpit and three-cockpit versions. I had a hard long battle modeling this one. Like the last…
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Free Plan – 1889 Nunivak Island Kayak
The Nunivak Island kayak isn’t something that you’d see everyday in modern recreational kayaks. For one thing, it has a big hole in the bow. In the Bark Canoes and Skin Boats of North America, Howard I. Chapelle notes that the hole is one of the main features that distinguished the Nunivak Island boats from the Kodiak kayaks. Figure 180, which this kayak comes from, shows the kayak with a mythological water monster painted on its side. Palriayuk, the water monster, eventually disappeared from the sides of the kayaks as missionaries influenced the thinking. Just try an Internet search to see if you can find reference to this water monster…